


A Page To Continue Writing, Death Cannot Change That

by GriffonIgnite



Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Battle, Blackmail, Charles Calvin Survives the Valiant Hero Ending, Choices, Choose Your Own Adventure, Cyborgs, Dark Past, Fake Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Infiltration, Manipulation, Multiple Endings, Outer Space, Rescue Missions, Revenge, Selectively Mute Henry Stickmin, Threats of Violence, Valiant Hero Ending | VH (Henry Stickmin)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:13:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26462464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GriffonIgnite/pseuds/GriffonIgnite
Summary: The Destruction of the Toppats' orbital station was wonderful, but it came at a cost. The cost of a hero's life.Or so they thought.
Comments: 64
Kudos: 102





	1. Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this story came from a fan art of Charles as a cyborg, and then it triggered my creative mind. I simply REFUSE to believe that he died in the VH ending!
> 
> I've started getting really into the fandom after CtM was released, it was my childhood and I couldn't believe that I forgot about it. So as a make up to it, I wrote this story to add to how my mind works, trust me it's very active with story ideas.
> 
> Also, I added Ellie here because, I can, and I love her. Just think that she and Henry ended up being presumed dead together and joins him and Charles to take down the orbital station.
> 
> I'm considering whether or not to add in some relationships into the fiction, so I'll leave that up to you guys to decide if I should.
> 
> I'll be happy to see how you guys see my story, as long as it isn't straight up hate, and just criticism, you can comment whatever you want!

The explosion was a light show, fiery orbs firing off from all sides of the empty vacuum of space, the construction of the orbital station falling to pieces as escape pods are seen leaving towards earth. Any unlucky victims still inside when it happened were forced to be within the showcase of events that unfolded. The remains of the station will be seen floating in no specific direction in space, forever to be lost unless someone somehow was able to find them if they chose the career of an astronaut to anything related to space in general. You cannot hear it, you cannot see it, but in one particular pod, there lies a crying male, with a redheaded female by his side, grieving.

Henry Stickmin had a wild life, ever since the little incident at a bank then to the escape from West Mesa Penitentiary (sometimes called Red Mesa Penitentiary), to the robbery of the priceless Tunisian Diamond, then getting pardoned for his crimes after assisting the government with proving that the Toppats are indeed criminals, to the escape and being assumed as dead from the Wall along with the red haired woman, then to where they are right now which was helping in bringing down the remnants of the Toppat Clan's orbital station, even he would admit that he didn't expect a massive turn in his life.

Ellie Rose never saw something like this coming into her life. After losing her younger brother in an accident, and the itch for stealing shiny and valuable objects getting the best of her which resulted in her imprisonment at the same complex as Henry was transferred to, then the same events happened to her with the male. 

So why are they crying if they're going to be safe on earth after the mission was completed?

It was because they lost someone important in the crossfire. 

Charles Calvin.

It broke his heart, it broke out tears, it broke out an emotional Henry when his last words couldn't even be spoken to them. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair. Why did he have to lose someone so soon? Someone he cares about...why did the past repeated itself? Even if it isn't done in the same way, why? He is a thief, yes, he broke the law, yes, but he never deserved any of this, did he?

While she didn't know him for long, Ellie could tell that she cared for the pilot in such a short time span. Although she had trust issues when it came to strangers, from a series of abandonment that led to it being born, she immediately got attached to both men when they first met. Something she never intended to happen, but couldn't complain either way, but now she can.

Tears still kept coming from Henry's eyes, no matter how hard he tried to wipe them away. Sobs kept croaking out from his mouth. The grief was too strong for his other emotions to overpower, not happiness, not anger, not disgust, only sadness filled his mind as the space station was now in its permanently fractured state. Staring at it hurt, reminding him of who he lost, reminding him of the sheer terror of leaving him behind with no other way to prevent it.

"Henry, there was nothing we could've done to stop it. He never deserved what he got, I'm heartbroken too, but we couldn't do anything about it. He pushed us into this escape pod for us to get back safely." Ellie had a hand on the man's shoulder, trying and failing to comfort him from the sight. She wasn't exactly the best when it came to calming others down from traumatic experiences, she liked to be on the offensive when hearing about someone getting hurt and punch the cause of it until it's gone, non-existent, so that it can't do the same harm it did to anyone that matters most to her. But in this case, they were in space with each other only, the orbital station has blown up with pieces flying away from its original position in the vacuum area. She can't be on the offensive this time.

It should've been him who exploded with the station. If he had to choose between this or being the one who was left behind, he would pick the latter option every time.

"But, we-we've still could've saved him. It's, it's not fair." Henry's voice was raspy, not only because from the lack of use, but from the sobbing and crying he endured. Hesitantly yet swiftly, he glanced up at the redhead, feeling how lucky he was that the world decided to be merciful and let him keep at least one friend. Even then it didn't calm him down from his mourning.

Ellie bit the bottom of her lip, seeing that they're now arriving at the location the escape pods are designed to go in the case of evacuation in space: Earth. "I know, he never should have been caught in the explosion." A solitary tear ran down from her eye to her cheek, eventually to the floor of the pod. "He was a good friend."

The rough landing of the mini ship was acknowledged immediately as the impact settled in. They are back on the only inhabitable planet in the solar system. Opening up the door of the escape pod, Ellie was about to walk out to see where they are when she got the need to look back to see if Henry was willing to come along. "You coming?"

With a simple, solemn nod, the male followed her out of the pod to see the scenery. They seemed to be in a jungle, the trees blocking out any view of whatever else is behind them, bushes scattered all around the area, fruits hanging from the branches of the trees. Some tracks that seemed to belong to a tank was in front of the pod, giving the duo an indicator that perhaps a soldier is nearby, or maybe a government camp? That can give them some refuge for the time being. 

The redhead turned to Henry. "You think we should follow these tracks?" She didn't want him to feel uncomfortable with rash decisions after what they witnessed.

He gave a nod, avoiding her gaze.

"Alright, let's get going then." Ellie stated, walking alongside the tracks of the supposed tank, Henry following closely behind, focusing more on the surroundings than anything else. He is never going to forget what happened back there, and neither was the female. And it all could've been avoided if that stupid door wasn't stubborn and that Toppat Clan member wanting them to die there while he gets the last escape pod.

Their journey with the tracks led them to a government base. The government that Charles worked at. Ellie turned over to Henry to see what he thinks.

"This is the government where he works at, I'm sure they will let us stay." Henry signed out to her, not really wanting to use his voice after how hoarse it sounded, and he didn't want to talk at the moment. He was always considered as a quiet person.

"Well, the news might as well send them into shock." The redhead said, gesturing her hand out to the male for him to follow her to the base. "They probably aren't going to be happy with seeing me, considering my history and all."

"I'll cover for you, don't worry." Henry signed, a slight reassuring smile on his face though it is very hard to see. He might as well help his only friend now, despite the events in space.

Ellie gave him a nod, lips curving into a small smile before they began the trek to the government base. A soldier noticed them and stopped them in their tracks, probably thinking that they're enemies. But lowered his gun when he realized who it was approaching them. "Henry Stickmin, a pleasure to be meeting you again." The soldier greeted him. 

"Rupert, nice to be meeting you again. We need to see the general." Henry signed out to Rupert, a face full of sorrow when he did.

"And why is that? And why is she here?" The other man asked, eyes narrowing on Ellie who gave him a nervous chuckle upon being noticed.

"I helped him with the destruction of the orbital station." Ellie responded, crossing her arms, her voice quite empty and not as energetic as it used to be.

"Oh, I see. Come with me you two." Rupert stated, somehow keeping a straight face at the news. He led the two former criminals to the tent where Galeforce was, announcing his arrival and informing him of the news. "General, the Toppats' orbital station has been destroyed."

"Excellent work!" Galeforce said, quite pleased that it was brought down. Now they wouldn't have to constantly keep on chasing them and be on guard at all times now that they're on ground level, the ones who escaped that is. He saw the gloomy faces of Henry and Ellie, not hesitating to ask a question for them both.

"What's wrong?"

"It's...a long story. And before you say something about her, she assisted in the destruction of the station." Henry signed to him, face still having the same type of expression, sadness. Ellie nodded to back up his claim.

"Pull up a chair you two, let me hear the whole story." The general stated, letting the duo sit down and allow them to list down what events have happened during their mission to destroy the station...including Charles's death.

.~.~

"So...why are we here with a bunch of junk?" A voice asked, in a little pod floating above the remnants of the station.

"I need a little someone from here." Another voice stated, squinting his eyes to find his intended target. "There he is."

"Why a pilot?"

"Oh, trust me Grant. I have a plan for him. Also, do you want **that **to happen?"****

********

********

Grant shook his head, look becoming nervous as he sighed in defeat. "No, I don't."

"Then beam him onboard, and when we get back to the main station, do your magic."

"Yes...Xavier."

He hesitantly pressed a button that made a green beam appear above the male with headphones, slowly but surely taking him onto the ship. Xavier turned to see that his target is onboard. 

"Excellent. Now, the process can begin."


	2. Reawakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charles wakes up to find that he's a little bit different than the last time he remembered.

The darkness around his eyes slowly began to clear up, his head aching, actually scratch that his whole body was in pain. All he saw when his eyes were fully freed of the black that threatened to block out his eyesight is a man with brown, spiky hair. He seems to wear some pretty oversized glasses, the irises behind them staring down at him.

How was he alive? Charles has no idea. The last thing he remembered was the explosion of the orbital station finally taking place, and he was about to say his last words to Henry and Ellie when the light show interrupted his speech. There was no time to find another escape pod, he knew that much, and he has to admit that he felt guilty for his two friends having to watch him be destroyed along with the station, but honestly as long as they are okay and the Toppats are brought down, he didn't mind dying.

Well, that didn't happen now did it?

Charles sat up quickly, a hand to his chest at the shock of being alive once it hit him. Before he could do anything else, another hand was clasped onto his shoulder, startling him immensely.

"Easy, easy. You were gone for a while, but I was able to bring you back to life with these robotic parts that are now your spine, left arm and leg." Grant informed the panicked pilot, examining the upgrades he had done to the male hours ago. 

He was forced to replace the said body parts with the now robotic ones, during the process of revival, he found that they were damaged beyond the point of healing from the explosion, the rest are fine except for major injuries that are also caused by the firework show at the station.

"R-robotic?" Charles questioned, the surprise never leaving him. Looking at the areas that are described to be cybernetic answered his question. "No way..."

"Listen, you're still healing from the explosion. I advise you to not move too much and try get adjusted to your cybernetics." Grant stated, cautiously removing his hand from the other's shoulder. If only he could tell him what his boss is going to do to him...

Just as that was said, and before an answer could be given from the male with headphones, a sound of a metallic door opening was heard. In came a man who is suspected to be in his late thirties or maybe early forties, a black mustache and beard were present on his face, but green bullet like accessories decorated the mustache, giving off an intimating aura. A small, suspicious looking smile crossed his face.

"Grant, how is the patient?" Xavier questioned the brunette, the two doors slamming shut together as he waltzes on in.

A sigh left his mouth as he turned to the man, a hand pushing up his oversized glasses to keep them from falling off at any moment. "He is well, sir. With the augmentations I've given him, he should be able to recover in no time."

Charles awkwardly waved at the mustached man with his non cybernetic arm. "Hello there." He felt some pain when he used it, but it's quite dull compared to the coursing pain that ran through his robotic parts, oh and don't forget his head.

"Why, it's nice to meet you too. But I don't think we could know each other better if we don't introduce ourselves." Xavier gave him a polite bow as if he was greeting a member of royalty. "Xavier Gemstones."

"Uh, Charles. Charles Calvin. That's my name, quite an odd moment to meet, Mr. Gemstones." Charles responded, confusion being the dominant emotion than any other type that he has the capability of feeling.

"Oh, don't worry about it. You are recovering from your injuries after all." A little huff came out into the room to indicate that someone else is in here, Grant. Annoyed, by the interruption, Xavier gave a rough sigh and gestures his hand to the brunette giving him a glare. "Oh yeah, and this is Grant Kerry, he is the doctor and person responsible for your augmentations or whatever word you use cyborg making scientists use."

An offended look crossed Grant's face as his glare darkened at the mustached man. "Hey, don't you dare insult my career. I do this to save people, you manipulating liar." He had to cut off the last words into a whisper that nobody can hear. Even if one of them gets out to the hearing range of Xavier, he would be in very, very big trouble. 

Xavier scoffed. "Yeah, and you do that by turning them into metal versions of themselves, something that I don't think anyone wants to have."

"Guys? Could I possibly go back to earth now, since I am alive and all. I don't want to have anyone there be grieving. They all think I'm dead." Charles spoke up in the middle of the mini argument that bursted out between the two other males. Can you really blame him for asking? He wanted to see his friends again, the general, the whole government, everyone probably thought by now that he's officially gone and he needs to inform them of his revival.

Hearing that question be asked made the argument stop. But the first of them to speak wasn't the intended statement he wanted to hear. "Go back? How can you ever go back when you have no idea how to use your cybernetics?" Xavier questioned, a look that mixed the emotions of anger and frustration together replaced whatever type of expression he used to have before the question was made in the argument.

"But, I have to-"

"No. You aren't going until all of your functions that come with your robotic parts are made clear to you. Only then will you be able to leave." A demanding tone vibrated in the male with headphones' ears, even if some of them were kind of blocked out by how big the headphones are. "Do you really want to create a huge crater in the earth when you get back?"

"Boss, just let-" Again, like with Charles's previous statement, Grant's was cut off quickly. Only, this one contained a lot more force as Xavier held a hand over his mouth to prevent him from talking even more.

Charles shook his head at the question that came before. He definitely did NOT want to accidentally harm someone with his newfound cybernetics. "Well, no I-"

"Exactly. You need training before you can announce your revival. Don't fret though, it won't take too long. I can promise that." You'll be back on earth in no time." Xavier then finally let his hand go off of Grant's mouth, the latter taking in deep breaths after being silenced for a while. He turned over to the brunette. 

"You wouldn't mind if you teach him the ropes, would you?"

As if on instinct, Grant immediately shook his head. "No, I'm the designer after all."

"Excellent, and just so you don't try anything funny..." The statement got slowly more quiet as the mustached man leaned in and whispered into Grant's ear, a horrified expression washed over him as the other leaned back after muttering something so terrible it made his emotions change. Then, after being satisfied with the wordless answer he received, Xavier walked out of the room.

The change of facial expressions didn't flee from Charles's notice, as he had his cybernetic hand latch onto the brown haired male's arm. "You alright?"

"Y-yeah, I am. Let's get to the training room now. So we can prepare for your return." Grant responded, standing up from the chair he was sitting on to head to the back of the room, presumingly the one that he was talking about. How big is this ship anyway?

Charles's hand slides off as it's intended target was going away. Well, the only thing left to do is to follow him, he guesses. It could've just been some pointless threat to fire him from his job if he doesn't do it right, it's gotta be that right? The now cyborg man slowly followed him, which took some time as every now and again his cybernetic leg would have the urge to give out due to not having enough experience, plus the pain shooting through his body and head into encouraging that sort of behaviour. At least now he knows why he needs training in his new form.

Grant looked behind him as soon as he was at the door, seeing that Charles is here too. "Okay, I would like to present to you, your training area." He had a hand on a scanner which opened up the metal doors. Revealing what was hiding behind them.

It looked liked your average everyday training room, with a few differences. For starters, there were holographic images of people who were stationed at various points of the place, then we have an arrow that is pointing upwards towards the roof, which seemed to be endless from the looks of it. It was a fairly large room, with each of the things mentioned in different areas. The holographic people were at the combat area, and the roof that seems to have no end was at the flying area.

Charles was obviously awed by the sight, examining each and every detail of the room, even the not so important ones. "That's a fruit basket right there?"

Grant let a chuckle escape him from his throat as the question was asked, he seemed to like it, even if it is leading towards a foreseeable future that he does not want to happen. "Yeah, for anyone who wants a little break from training."

"You have others train in this facility too?" 

"Yeah, but they all left back to earth as soon as they finished their training " He felt guilty for telling him lies, and he desperately wanted to let the truth out so he can help him without the man he learned to fear to be a burden on him, but once again, he couldn't. Out of habit and how he knew how it turned out when he told someone else for the first time.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's begin so I can go back faster!" Charles's energetic self came back fast, he isn't someone who could be broken down easily.

"If you insist. Which do you wish to proceed? The combat area or the flying area?" Grant gestures to the two areas, waiting for Charles's decision to come.

1) Flying area

2) Combat area

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I have decided to add some choices into the story! Some of them are very crucial when it comes to the story (edit: actually, I'm gonna have another ending to it, and maybe a bonus scene) Some are used for battle, no quick time ones of course, I have no idea how to do them here.
> 
> Anyway, the choice with the most votes will be included in the next chapter, so choose wisely!
> 
> Edit: It's actually the next chapter after the one I finish writing, so pardon my mistake.


	3. Personal Payback

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry and Ellie have been grieving during their stay at the government base, it's time that they take revenge on the ones who caused them such pain that increased with their pasts. With some help.

It had been a few hours after the Toppat Clan's orbital station was blown up into little pieces floating mindlessly in space, and things hadn't gotten better since, sort of. Galeforce officially pardoned Ellie from her crimes for her assistance in the destruction of the station, so that's at least a plus. But other than that, nothing was going great for the duo. Losing a friend, a great one at that, has taken their positive emotions away for the negative ones to drop in and take over their minds. They were allowed to stay on the premises, now that they're trustworthy allies of the government, they can do missions even though neither were enlisted into the force yet, another bonus for helping. Even then, nothing could ever fill the hole that teared through their hearts at the loss.

Henry and Ellie are staying in one of the tents that are made for tired soldiers to rest at, to put it simply, it's like dorms you would see when you're at university. It was quite cozy; a cool living quarters, comfortable beds, a clean and nice kitchen with food already stuffed inside the fridge. An overall average space for whenever you need a break from basically everything bad in your life.

"That was the worst thing that happened in my life, besides the lost of my brother." Ellie stated, lying down on one of the beds in the room, her red hair only filling around an eighth of the mattress. A few stains from her tears were visible on the grey coloured blanket that she has access to as a way to hide from the blistering cold if that ever comes to that.

"You have a brother?" Henry asked in sign to the red haired woman, his facial expression hasn't changed much from the previous hours. The gloomy, downhearted, sorrowful face was still there. He doesn't know if he could truly be happy again.

Ellie was about to deny the fact, but then realization hit her that he would insist that he wants to know regardless, and would more than likely wouldn't stop until she confesses, he just seems that type of person. Plus she said it out loud so she would have no other excuse to defy it. So she does exactly that, confessing the truth, but not before sitting up straight first. "Yeah, but I don't think I'd see him again."

Henry titled his head to the side, confusion finding its way to the storm of negative emotions he was feeling. "Is it because of your crime record?"

The redhead shook her head. "No, but I guess it could be counted if he found out, even if it is destroyed. He went missing for years prior to us meeting at the Wall, we got into a bit of trouble with some bullies when we were much younger, and calling it a bit is an understatement, because they took him away from me..." Even more tears began to dwell within her irises, flashbacks playing in rapid succession crossed her mind as painful memories rushed back to her like a flood. "It was all my fault it happened..."

Acting on instinct, the man quickly rushed to her side, a hand on her back that rubbed soothing circles around it, giving her a one armed hug. "It wasn't, I'm sure he would have forgiven you regardless." Henry decided to use his voice, despite that it sounded scratchy and quite frankly hoarse, and not the comforting tone you would expect to hear in movies when the main character's love interest calms them down from a traumatic experience from their past, but it was an attempt, isn't it?

"But I was a horrible older sister, letting someone I was supposed to protect and love be taken away without me doing anything." Ellie's sobs filled in the void that silence threatened to build. Guilt gnawed at her from the inside, as if a monster which feeds off of sadness sits within her and it gets stronger each passing day she feels the emotions it wants her to experience. "And I let the same happen to a good friend."

Henry's expressions returned to their original mix of sorrow and regret at the mention of Charles's sacrifice. It practically became a new body function after the ordeal of events: every time the explosion was brought up, the negativity sees the opening and overpowers any of the somewhat alive positivity and claims their position as his current feelings. He didn't let it consume his mind completely, instead focusing all of his efforts to comfort the redhead as much as he could, even with the weight of the misery trying to bring him into it's territory again. "It isn't your fault. If anything it's those bullies' fault, they were the ones who took him away in the first place. Don't beat yourself up over this."

They sat like that for approximately five more minutes, the red haired's crying slowed down overtime with the male's help and support, eventually the sobs stopped and silence reigned supreme once more. The atmosphere was relatively calm, contrasting the guilt the duo were feeling once again over their friend, like it doesn't care about what others are experiencing at the moment and just wants to mind it's own business. "Thanks." Ellie muttered after what felt like a year had passed, looking into the other's eyes to see that they are staring back at her.

"Don't thank me, I simply wanted you to feel happy, even if it can't be achieved now..." Henry signed to her, no longer using his voice and now back to his sign language habits. He switches between the two only in conversations with either Ellie or Charles, the only two people he trusts with the authority of listening to the tones of it. Although, there was a time when he had someone else he was really close to, a childhood friend for clarification. Until... **they **came.****

********

********

A hand came into contact with the door as sounds originated from behind it, successfully getting the attention of the duo as knocks were intended to do. "Is uh, anyone there?" A familiar yet vague voice asked behind the wood. 

"Come in!" Ellie responded immediately, as to cover for Henry's selective muteness around other people. And the fact that sign language can't be seen from the outside of any solid materials. 

The entrance opened up as soon as the person got the okay sign to come inside the mini version of a house. A man around the age of twenty-two to twenty-four came indoors with the usual military hat that if you looked closely underneath, or lift up the accessory to symbolize your placement as a soldier in the government, you can see a black hat with the words 'security'. "I hope that I'm not uh, bothering you two or anything." 

The lady with bright red hair shook her head to not alarm him of anything false he never did. "You aren't. We're just talking." 

"Hey Dave, joined the military?" Henry questioned the other man in sign, the gloom never dissipating from his emotions. 

"Yeah, after I was rescued from the Toppats' airship brig, Rupert invited me to stay with the army. He never held any grudge towards me surprisedly, you know, after the part where you escaped West Mesa Penitentiary because I uh, forgot to check your package?" Dave responded, holding the tip of his government cap up a bit to reveal his security guard hat. 

"Why'd you keep your old hat if you joined the government?" Ellie asked, looking up ever so slightly for her gaze to connect with the written words that sat on top of the hat. 

"It's supposed to be a reminiscent of what happened that led me to myself today, you know? And I could tell you changed a lot since we last seen each other Henry." The security guard turned soldier said, shurgging as he sat beside the duo on the grey blanket covered bed.

Henry just gave a simple, solemn nod, avoiding to make eye contact with the other man in the room. Not that he didn't want to, he just needed some time to compose himself, make it that he's not an emotional wreak. He could tell that Ellie is trying to hide it too.

Unfortunately, their efforts of hiding their grief didn't go unnoticed by Dave. "You two okay? Did something happen? I heard that you both helped in taking down the Toppat Clan's orbital station." 

"Someone we care about died during the mission." Henry signed the answer to him, finally gathering the courage he had trapped within out of the hole it was thrown into to make eye contact with him.

Dave just raised an eyebrow in confusion, apparently not having fully understood sign language yet. Only a fraction of what it's about. 

Ellie quickly noticed this and acted fast to not have an awkward silence spark between the three of them. "A friend of ours got caught in the explosion of the station." She spoke that with a crack in her voice. 

Actual silence filled the room as soon as she finished her statement. Dave was speechless at the news, and couldn't help but feel sorry for them. "If you uh, don't mind me asking, who was your friend? You don't have to answer it if you don't want to, that's totally fine too. If you have painful memories of it I understand." He was a nice guy, always keeping his optimistism even in the worst circumstances. It's amazing how he managed it especially after being locked up in solitary confinement for a long time.

Henry, after another round of the silent game was completed, signed to Ellie, "I hope you don't mind."

The redhead gave him a thumbs up to signify that she won't be bothered by his decision to tell him. He would've got to know about it anyway.

Nodding in response, the male turned back to the soldier, taking in a deep breath before signing the answer to the question that was asked. "Charles."

"Oh..." Dave muttered, once again at a lost for words. His face distorted into an expression that could be described as a result of seeing your old nemesis for the first time in years. "I've known him from the time I was in training, and he seemed like a cool guy. We hit it off quite well when we met. Can't believe he's gone this soon..."

"And it's all those crooked Toppats' fault!" Ellie suddenly shouted, the noise echoing through the room. Her tone contained spite, rage, resentment. All of them running through her head, veins, body simultaneously. No longer was the sorrow consuming her and dragging her into an emotional mess she cannot undo. If she is going to rid it, and if she can't do that by the sight of Charles alive and well again, then she'll do it in another way, one that is much more...action based: Taking revenge against the Toppat Clan. "They are the reason why we are mourning, they are the reason why he died! They are the reason why we had to go to their orbital station in the first place!"

Henry was about to hold her off from potentially punching something in the room, or try to calm her down from her mini rant, but then realized she had a point. If the Toppats weren't able to establish their orbital station, they could've all lived a peaceful life without them interfering. No sacrifice required, no grieving and mourning needed, it all could have been avoided if it weren't for them. 

"It's about time for some payback, and it's personal! We gotta find all of the remaining members of the clan and teach them a lesson they'll remember for the rest of their lives in a small jail cell!" Ellie continued on with her speech of vengeance, standing up from the bed and cracking her knuckles, a very not so nice smirk curving on her lips. She will break bones, spill blood, make an example on why you should never, ever mess with her or the ones she cared so dearly about.

Dave couldn't speak again for around a few seconds. He has never met someone this determined to avenge someone's death in his whole life, but he can get why. Losing a friend is the probably the worst thing to happen to anyone ever. He can't imagine the pain they're going through, they did see the explosion happen after all. While he and the rest of the soldiers didn't. "Well, I heard that the general is getting ready some teams to hunt down the Toppats who escaped the station."

"When is it happening?" Henry asked in sign, managing to ignore the bloodthirsty grin on the red haired's lips. Sometimes he forgets that she can be extremely terrifying, especially in circumstances like these.

"In an hour or so I believe. That reminds me, would you two be interested in helping? I mean, that's part of the reason why I came here. You don't have to accept it if you don't want to, just a little offer." Dave let the question slip, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, a little habit he picked up when he was captured by the Toppats.

Henry and Ellie both nodded immediately. There was no WAY they would turn down an opportunity to bring down the criminal organization that caused their grief. And what happened back in space added on to the need to hunt them down.

"Alright! We'll have to find you both a team to fit in first, all of them have been established already, and I have two that you'll have to consider carefully." The soldier said, glancing at the window that made sunlight shine through the room, seeing the three people he is going to talk about chatting with one another in nothing particular in looks like. "The Bounty Hunters Unit. They're a team who never failed to bring back any criminals dead or alive. Each of them specialize is something different. John, the one with the bandana headband, is a master when it comes to stealth. He can sneak his way into any place with high security. The next is Gordon, he's an expert with technology and knows his way around any interface and can hack into basically any device. The final one is Amelia, her love for explosives can come in handy in desperate situations, and can blow a hole through any problem, if you know what I mean."

After the introductions were done, Ellie perked up. This team sounds like they're impossible to stop, like her and Henry back when they were escaping from the Wall. And if they all of them were working together..."Sounds like a great squad." She already forgotten the other option completely.

"Or you can join mine, Rupert practically insisted that we brought you along. He thought that both of your skills can help in the round up. I'm giving you guys a choice since me and him kept on arguing about which of the two teams you should go on." A light chuckle left his throat.

The red haired female's face fell back to the 'oh yeah I totally forgot' one everyone uses when something they forgot to do was brought up. She felt a little guilty for not listening closely. But shrugs it off as she turned to Henry to see what he thinks, regardless of their choice, their goal will remain the same, take down the Toppats once and for all. "So, which team do you think we should go on?"

1) The Bounty Hunters

2) Dave's team


	4. Training: Flying High

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charles begins his training with his mechanical supplements by doing the obvious: Flying. Unfortunately, it isn't as easy as driving a helicopter, especially when you take into account with the obstacles he has to face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It looks like the flying area won the votes! But do not fret, there will be chapters that will focus on the non chosen options, or maybe I can even make them into one shots. Who knows?
> 
> And I would like to apologize on this chapter getting released pretty late, school was starting to get merciless with homework and I hate it, and motivation never seems to stay whenever I needed it to, hope you all understand and thank you for being patient!
> 
> Additional note: This chapter will be revamped soon, but it won't alter the plot in any way, just clear up some mistakes I made here. Please be aware that this is not the final version. And thank you to Diamond_Ocelot6 for pointing out these errors.

"The flying area, please." Charles gave his answer after a little while, breaking the silence between him and the doctor who saved his life. He is a pilot, he can surely handle flying with his augmentations, plus he might be able to perform a plan he always wanted to do when he got the authority to fly a helicopter, without the vehicle. He couldn't wait to the time when his training is considered complete so he can return to Earth and be reunited with his friends and the government. He still doesn't understand why Xavier refuses to let him go back to the planet that is currently the only one inhabitable when his revival was a success, or at least inform the government he works at that he is in fact alive. Even with his reasoning being of his lack of experience with the cybernetics he was given, he is quite skeptical about the claim. It was almost as if he is here for something...anyway, he can go back with it later. Right now, he needs to focus on his training first.

Grant nodded at the decision, shoes clicking towards the selected course, the one that has a seemingly endless roof that points upwards. "Are you ready to proceed?" He asked to be sure that this is the first thing the half cyborg wanted to do to test out his enhancements. He never thought he would actually choose the flying area over the combat one, everyone else who came before him always wanted to see what battle functions they have installed in them, none of them were interested in seeing how they flew at all. This particular individual however is different than all the others. Fascinating...

Charles nodded in the firmest way possible, determination and excitement visible on the entirety of his face. He felt like he was made for this course, he can totally do it! "Yes, I am ready to begin!" He was bustling with energy at the thought itself, speed walking on over to where the flying area was, waltzing into a blue ring which is where the endless roof was located at. Staring up towards it, a smirk made it's way to his lips as he awaited for the first instructions that are made to guide him through the course. A huge set of glass was above him, blocking his access to the very tall roof. He could just smash into it but that is probably against the course's rules, and it would only make sense if the glass was sturdy. It also seemed that they are obstacles in his way, beams of metal and holographic lasers are some of the examples. Oh well, nothing he couldn't handle. It's just like when he taking his flying test when he first applied to be a pilot in the military.

"If you're absolutely sure on your final decision, we can begin." The brown haired male stated, looking at the control panel that is made, pressing one of the buttons that caused the blue ring opening to close, leaving no other way to get out of the course unless the ring regains it's opening if he pushes the button that caused it to happen again.

Once everything in the course has been set up, Grant proceeded to one of the final steps that is required to start training, turning on the jetpack that is installed in the robotic spine he gave to the man with headphones. "Before we can start, I would like you to activate the jetpack feature on your spine."

"A jetpack? In my spine?" Charles asked in confusion, at first. Then the information processed into his head, which got excitement to fully take control of being the primary emotion he felt.

"Yes. Indeed you have one. Now, listen carefully, you'll need to remember this the next time we begin the course." Grant responded, nodding to confirm it. He was so used to giving others the instructions on how their battling techniques work that he has to remind himself that this is the flying area, not the combat one. Blame his habits for that, and how he gets adjusted to stuff when he experienced them long enough. "So, I want you to focus on your back, and only your back until you can feel something forming on it."

Processing what has been said, the male with headphones began to do exactly what was told to him. Focusing all of his brain activity on his now metallic spine, he awaited for what was promised to happen soon, making sure to tune out anything that would distract him from his focus. He can think about going home later, he has some education to go through first with his new cybernetics.

Something felt heavy on his back, not the kind of heavy that would make your arms feel tired, it's the type of heavy you would say when carrying a small table for the first time as a child. Charles took this as a sign to break focus to see what had appeared. Indeed, it is a jetpack that was brought out of the new spine he got. The boosters were already flaring with fire, it was at the lowest it could go, so that he couldn't accidentally be blasted off all of the sudden. Blazing sparks descending to the floor like fireflies. Thankfully, nothing was set ablaze as the tiny flames just sunk into the material below, extinguishing the potential threat in one go.

Grant let an impressed smile fall upon his face, it was the first time he had ever seen the function come into play in his time working here. It felt relieving to finally have a sight at something that always got the short end of the stick rise to be shown from its dormant form. This also piled the fuel onto the fire of fascination that ignited within him when he heard from the other man his interest in starting with the flying area and not the combat area. He is definitely different than everyone else he revived in the past. Even if their friendship is temporarily. "Marvelous. Now it's time for the main course to begin." 

Pushing another button that is on the control panel, the glass that concealed the opportunity of training slowly opened up, letting the obstacles that stood in his way be more prominent and showed some extras that couldn't be seen clearly from the glass in the process. Faint traces of fog in the distance, some hoops attached to the sides, some holographic cannons, just to name a few.

Despite the presence of the new menaces, Charles never let his excitement be faltered. He'll be able to pass this, totally. His helicopter test has prepared himself for this moment, he knows when and how to avoid obstacles even if he isn't using the vehicle for this course. He began to bend down on his knees, waiting for the signal to begin his flying.

"Now, proceeding with the course in three...two...one. Start!" The brunette, after making sure nothing is out of place, gave the green light for the other to begin.

At the mention of being given permission to start, Charles got back up to his knees, but instead of standing up, he was flung upwards by the boosters of the jetpack finally letting the flames be at its fullest, allowing him to blast off immediately. It was sort of hard to get control of, as in during the takeoff, he struggled trying to direct himself to a desirable location, and by that it means that he was about to crash head first into the wall if he didn't steered away in time. But his flying tests payed off for that one. A beam of metal was placed in his pathway, threatening to end his first run even before he could make any decent progress on it. In a swift yet off-timed manner, he narrowly managed to avoid the steel though he could swear that his shoe hit it. He'll probably have to get that checked up to make sure no bruises or cuts are in his foot after the course.

The male then redirected his attention from foot problems to the test again, seeing that a holographic cannon ball was launching towards him at high speeds, the aura that came along with it since it is a hologram trailing behind the sphere. Like with the metal beam, he quickly dodged out of the way it was designated to shoot towards, the ball disappearing as soon as it hit the material opposite of it. As he was about to proceed, fog suddenly covered his line of sight, leaving him vulnerable to anything that may be coming in his way and he can't prepare in time.

Navigation through the thick haze was much easier said than done, as Charles nearly gotten hit by the hologram versions of lasers, getting thrown through the hoops by some wind machines forcefully blowing him in their direction, more cannon balls hurling towards him at a much faster pace, and almost banging his head against the beams made out of metal, thanks to the mist it was almost impossible to know which hazard was coming next. On the bright side, he is learning some new tricks in the air, like doing a triple backflip midair, or practically and accidentally doing a trop kick on one of the beams of made out of a material as hard as gold, and hurting his poor foot. But back to the topic at hand, he was stuck only on the first level too, he only realized that by looking at the walls and seeing the number one spray-painted onto them.

Another round of dodging lasers later, the cyborg flew upwards in hopes of getting to level two as soon as possible. He knew that it would be worst than what happened in the first test, but right now he just wanted to get out of the madness that was happening on the stage. As he did, the fog kept getting thicker and thicker the higher the altitude he went up, and that meant more trouble with the hazards. Narrowly avoiding another steel bar, this time he was sure that his foot hit it though, and it sent a spiral of pain up the body part, he didn't let it deter him from stopping the course just to check if any damage was done, he is gonna have to ask for foot healing though it seems like, seeing at how many times his foot was coming into contact with hard objects. He was fully focused on one thing: Proceeding to the next level. He has plenty of time to check on his foot later.

On the ground, Grant was observing the progress made on the screen installed into the control panel, displaying the performance made by the headphone wearing male. "Levels completed: Zero. Hazards avoided: Ninety. Overall performance: Excellent." The stats were on the side of the screen, only blocking out a small portion from the sight of his irises, even with his oversized glasses improving his vision.

It was almost as if the fog was never-ending and it just kept going forever up until you get to the last level or even the very end. The mist becoming thicker and harder to navigate didn't make things better. Was the whole thing revolving around the fog itself? Definitely not, it's only for the this stage of the course right? Each level is going to have a menace that prevents him from just mowing through the test, so this is only the first of them. _You'll get out of this level and move onto the next in no time. _That's what Charles told himself. He is a pilot for crying out loud, he should know how and when to act in the air.__

____

____

He kept climbing the pathway to the end of the hazy road, he got adjusted quite fast to the routine of the obstacles that are trying to stand in his way of his goal, allowing him to finally, after approximately about twenty minutes or so, he made it to the second stage, as indicated when his eyes are freed from the misty terrain and the spray-painted two on the walls. There seems to be no hazards in the way for this one, which was strange but reliving at the same time. He can catch a break from the craziness he endured back down at the fog ridden area, until he began this level.

As soon as he started to fly upwards to continue on with the course, another steel beam came out from the wall and almost crushed him, if it weren't for his reflexes and training as a pilot, it would probably lead to a concussion, or maybe even more augmentations on his person. At least give him a warning!

"Ahh!" Charles yelled as he escaped from a fate that wouldn't be pretty, scared half to death by how he could've gotten killed (again), or be severely injured. Just as he was getting a breather and thinking what this level is about, another metal bar launched itself towards the pilot without any warning like the last one. And just like with the previous beam of steel, he dodged it in time for it to smash right into the material the wall opposite of it was made out of. This stage seems to be based on luck and prediction, as those large metallic constructions come out of nowhere randomly and how they somewhat have a fixated pattern to how they get released. Key word being somewhat, as there is no way to tell how they come out without seeing the source. And the cause is from the walls, of course, but predicting on when and how they'll be sending their steely beams is another question entirely.

Calming down from the two panic attacks he experienced, Charles decided to try and beat this level. As far as he knows, his luck isn't exactly the best, especially when it came to stuff like this. He never liked situations where he can't strategize to get the upper hand against his enemies, or anything that has to deal with predication in general. He always want to be in a position which guarantees success no matter what he does, and being placed in something that doesn't allow that and he has to rely on Lady Luck to do it for him is not his cup of tea. But he has no other choice, if he wants to proceed, he has to get past this stage first. No excuses.

Soaring in the direction the course expected anyone who went to train in the flying area, the cyborg was able to avoid one of the constructive nuisances by going too fast for it to stop, a little strategy he developed, unfortunately, that meant its neighbour next door is going to clean up the job by having him slam into the next beam when he was way too speedy to stop, not entirely but still. Thankfully, he didn't smash his face into the metal, but his non-robotic leg definitely did. A cracking sound was faintly heard when it came into contact with the steel.

The pain began to set in quickly, coursing through one of the body parts that wasn't modified with cybernetics, causing him to completely acknowledge the agony and stop in his tracks to process what has been done, but not without letting out a grunt of discomfort when the sting settled in. He can't move it and he is scared to even try to, even if isn't broken, it still hurts a lot, his nerve system couldn't help but let the signal go through. Clutching it with his one non-cybernetic hand and his other robotic one in the immense throbbing of his leg, he looks around to see if any other metallic bars decide to jump out and try to harm him again.

Grant noticed this sudden change of events, and pressed a button that immediately retracted the hazards that were faced along Charles's training, including the ones that are supposed to be for the next levels. "I suggest that's enough for today." He spoke through a microphone implanted into the control panel, his voice echoing through the course like an announcer at a football game. 

Meekly nodding at the signal to stop, Charles slowly descended back to the ground. Mainly because his injury was preventing him from just crashing down like he would normally. The aching never got better, and at times he would accidentally move it which obviously only invited pain to the doorstep, causing the cyborg to wince occasionally during the little trip. When he did touched the floor again, the leg that was punished gave out immediately due to the pain taking over completely, prompting him to sit down on the cold material that made the floor what it is, cradling the very likely to be broken leg in his arms, it was already in a position where it can be huddled up to his chest so the sting couldn't be administered. His jetpack stuffing itself back inside his cybernetic spine when he touched the ground.

"That looks like it hurts, I saw everything that happened on the screen. You alright?" Grant asked, going over to the male with headphones to check on his non-robotic leg. His tone carried hints of concern along with it, worriment invading into his emotions and gaining control over the others. He searched for any signs of the part of the human body to be broken or fractured, eyes catching onto a swollen area on his knee. "Can you still move it?"

Charles shook his head, keeping his leg as unresponsive as possible. "I don't think so, and I don't want to do it." The jolt of pain that would very likely come along with moving even his toe isn't worth it, the possibility of the non-robotic part of his body not actually being broken isn't enough to convince him either, the paranoia of letting an inch move was too great for him to handle.

The brunette bit the bottom of his lip at the answer, irises turning to the door that leads to the outside of the training room, then back to the person he turned into a partially metallic version of himself. How are they going to get back to the recovery area like this? He needs to go back there to give him an x-ray to truly see if his leg was broken, or worst case scenario, shattered. But he doesn't want to hurt the other, he has never had anyone accidentally getting injured during their training before, the only times he has seen them in states of agony were when Xavier performs his plans on them...he's getting sidetracked by those events again. "I'll go and find some crutches for you, wait here okay?"

"Sure, I can wait." The cyborg stated, a little smile appearing on his face.

"I'll be back as soon as possible." Grant responded, mirroring the beaming before he turned away, shoes clicking along as he reached the door and had a hand over the scanner, the entrance to the outside of the room detecting the print of a hand they expected to come eventually, allowing him to exit the large and high tech place to wherever he wanted to go next.

When the only other human being left him all alone in the facility, Charles let his gaze fall upon the entirety of the construction, re-examining everything he wanted to get a closer inspection of when he first entered, ignoring the tingling feeling in his injured leg. Decorative lights surrounded the frame of the strongly secured door, the bulbs flashing a light red, the colour affecting a part of its surroundings. Guess they're just for cosmetic purposes, or do they actually have some functionality? Maybe they change their shadings when someone who isn't a recognized member of the whole station tries the scanner?

He was always considered as the curious type, but not the one who would insist on knowing something when another person doesn't want to talk about it, unless it involves a friend of his, he would usually let it slide. When it comes to technology or anything that looked cool, it's the complete opposite. He would want to know everything about them, which includes functions, design, how to use it for battle, if it's reliable, how it was made, and what materials were invested to create it. Take my word for it, when you present a device that is made by you and it's something the world hasn't seen before, be prepared to answer all of his questions about it, even if you want to keep it a secret.

"Mr. Gemstones must be a rich guy if he managed to afford all the workers responsible for these." Charles muttered to himself, admiring the construction that was put into the place. "Something about him though... it's making me uneasy." Maybe his skepticism is just a pointless suspicion that happened to stumble upon his mind, after all Xavier must've assisted with his revival in space. Perhaps he really is a nice guy and is just looking out for him to make sure he didn't cause any unnecessary harm to anyone when he returns to Earth, even if he was a little harsh about it, especially with the doctor. But maybe he's someone who doesn't have much fun often, and despises incompetence and lack of progress in work. None of these however dimissed his suspicions about the mustached man, but they did lower them by a reasonable amount, but not entirely. "I'll have to keep an eye on him, when I can walk again of course."

.~.~

In the meantime, Grant was already in the recovery room, searching for a set of crutches he can give to the male with headphones to assist him in walking for the time being. Sure, he could've asked him to just float above the ground with his jetpack, but he doesn't want any more pain coming to him, and besides it can't even be used for that kind of purpose, it's only used for fast travel through the air. "I really need to tell him about the course's major flaws." The brunette muttered softly, just loud enough for himself and only himself to hear, frustrated with finding crutches as the only things he found were bandages and surgery tools, not that they were bad, heck he's even going to use the bandages on the cyborg, he just needed those crutches and then he's done here.

"What do you think you're doing?" A rough voice questioned with disappointment, causing the doctor to spin around, startled by the appearance of his most hated person to this day. 

"Well, uh, the patient decided to do the flying area first, and um, let's just say that he...got in a bit of trouble with the second level." Grant answered the question in a nervous tone, a hand coming behind to rub his neck, a very awkward smile crossed his face. _Stupid stupid stupid! This is all your fault and you know it! Great job idiot, thanks to you, you're screwed! ___

____

__"What kind of trouble?" Xavier asked again, this time his voice was more on the demanding side, his glare darkening in each passing second when another word was still within the brown haired's throat. "Answer me when I ask a question. What. Kind. Of. Trouble?"_ _

Grant was too busy beating himself up over the training, he couldn't give a response to cover his tracks. The mustached man only wanted all of his victims to stay unharmed to do his twisted deeds on them, he never cared for anyone other than himself, his 'concern' was merely an act to gain the trust of those he brings in to perform those unspeakably horrible things on them. If he had to be honest, what happened to them was far worst than their near death experiences before coming here. And-

"ANSWER ME!" That scream right into his eardrum was enough to snap the doctor out of whatever trance he was in. 

"Um, he just didn't know how the second stage worked is all! And he, uh, needed a breather, so I left him alone for a while!" He despised the way he was talking, that kind of behaviour was only fuelling his fear and anxiety around the older man.

Silence reigned supreme over the room, Xavier examining all of his words in a calculated manner in a search to hunt down any clue that will lead to the conclusion that he was lying. He could tell that the statement was rushed by the way of the younger's speaking, one of the telltale signs someone is telling a lie is how they respond to any question regarding any topic you wanted to talk about.

Grant was sure that he was going to face a beating, the silence went on for too long to mean good.

"Whatever, go back there and check on him, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid with the equipment. And don't ever do this again, got that?" The mustached man let out an exasperated huff, turned around and walked away from the scene, the complete opposite of what the brunette thought would happen instead.

"Did he...did he just spared me?" Grant talked to himself in a soft tone, surprise in a battle between his previous emotions until it became the last one standing. At the very least, no bruises had to be explained to the new victim. 

Realization hit him like a brick wall when his memory started jogging again, reminding him of why he's here in the first place. "Darn it! Crutches, I almost forgot!" And then subsequently ran around the room to find some.


	5. Mansion Trip Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Toppats who survived the explosion must now make their way to the only known wealthy member's mansion or be at the mercy of their worst enemy. First however, they need a break.

"It was going perfect until something damaged our core!" Sven went on with a mini rant, pacing back and forth between the small number of members he managed to round up. It was unknown if any other Toppats survived the event, or were already caught by any of the governments. Either way, actively going out to search for them is extremely risky. Even if he wanted to, with their current status they'll have to find someway to get the meddlesome governments off their tails before they can scout out the remaining members, or at least have a way to assure that they can be safe without worrying about getting taken away.

Currently, they were resting for a while because some members were complaining about their feet hurting from the walking to Albert's mansion. As the only wealthy Toppat to survive the explosion, assets now has to come from him, everything in the orbital station was destroyed and nobody else could provide anything either because of low amount of money or their stuff was caught in the explosion too. Gene would've worked too if not for the fact he can't get his mayor job back due to investigations for his plans to smuggle the Tunisian Diamond away have been exposed to the public. Unfortunately, Albert claims that it would take a five day walk to get to the mansion.

"Isn't it that obvious?" Carol questioned with the usual sharp edge in her tone, sitting down on the soft grass beneath them. "As far as I know, nobody was in the room where the core was. Unless we have a traitor on the station, it could only mean one thing, Galeforce's government."

Sven's already angry demeanor rose even further at the mention of potentially having a traitor among the clan, as well as Galeforce and his government. The latter being the more primary reason why his rage went up. Lying down on the grassy area, he buried his face right into the soil out of frustration. First, he had to take over a job he never wanted, now he has to lead the remains of the clan on the planet with government officials bound to come after them. You might be asking yourself if he didn't want this position why did he even take it? The answer, he had to step up. No leader means panic among the clan, no one in charge means the whole clan will fall into turmoil. Plus, he's the third in command of the Toppats, and since the previous leader and his right hand man were arrested, everyone who was able to evade capture one way or another looked up to him to guide them.

A rather long groan emitted from the blonde, muffled out by the grass and dirt that is coming into contact with his facial features. So many problems are too much to him with the burden of the responsibility he had to give himself only adding onto the stress he has going on right now.

"Boss, calm down. It's not the end of us yet." Burt sat down cross-legged beside the new leader of the clan, his face blank as ever, go figure. It was kind of his duty to make sure their new chief doesn't get so stressed out that he explodes, they've grown at lot closer together after the arrest of the airship division, most of it anyway. Since he is the head of communications, and all leaders have to interact with him regardless if they liked him or not, the fact that he and him are already friends, it's safe to say that their bond is stronger than ever.

Sven didn't respond, and continued lying on the grass, though he did lifted his head up, which as expected was screwed up by the dirt. Then subsequently laid his face back into the soil. The head of communications shrugged his shoulders as he placed a hand on the Swedish man's back, a little way he found to comfort him during his stress periods.

Meanwhile, Icepick tried to make a little attempt at removing his hat that is made for the colder climates, which is useless for hot temperatures, as indicated by the water bullets running down his face to his neck. "What do you think about this Cameron?" The attempt was a failure as Sal noticed it right before it can be taken off of his head, smacking the hand to stop him.

"Personally, I don't think it's the government. If it was, wouldn't Burt have detected them on the radar? Seems kinda suspicious that no space pods were seen." Cameron said, leaning against a tree with an eyebrow raised.

"Probably a prototype, if they did managed to develop ships for space travel, they would've send all of them after us, not just one Mr. Araine. Also, that one prototype was more than likely out of range from detection." Mr. Macbeth gave the answer to the question that was given around five seconds ago, a sigh leaving his throat.

The raven haired male wasn't entirely convinced, it did however help him with his instincts that a traitor is in the group, or perhaps they're already dead or caught?

Not a single member of the clan would say they didn't panicked when they heard the alarm going off back at the station, even Burt, who always seem to have a poker face 24/7, expressed actual emotion at the first signal of danger. Three weeks after launch is a tad bit too early for them to get forcefully brought back down to Earth.

"At the very least, we're still together in one piece right?" The Witch stated out of the blue, trying to brighten up the relatively dull atmosphere that surrounded her and her fellow Toppats.

Earrings played around with one of her shiny jewels, her face basically the result of seeing someone who is incredibly dumb do something stupid. "I swear Witch, you have been watching too many shows for kids. This is real life, not all sunshine and rainbows world. Though if it were to help my fabulous gems be brighter and prettier than ever before, I would consider that we are in that world." Striking a pose, she let her diamonds be exposed to everyone in the vicinity, the eruption of light flowing from them. The Toppats who were caught in the flash covered up their eyes immediately, not wanting to get blind in a high stakes situation. Some of them went the extra mile and ran away from the unnecessary light as bright as the sun itself. Some used their top hats to shield their precious eyes. And some just looked away.

"Rings, save your jewels for when we need them okay?!" Cameron spoke up to the earring wearing Toppat, being one of the few members who stayed where they are when the brightness was threatening to make everyone who had the unfortunate opportunity to see it lose their eyesight.

Rolling her eyes, Earrings reluctantly covered up her gems, effectively making the light dissipate from the area. She took out her smartphone that is underneath her dark blue top hat, sitting on top of her blonde hair, and began doing her daily routine of checking on the site she uses, as a part time blogger, it's a piece of her job to do so, although she gets a lot more in the clan, she does this as more of a hobby so to speak.

When the shine was gone, everyone who didn't run away like a mouse being chased by a cat either looked back, lifted up their top hats or unfolded their eyes, depending on the course of action they took, were all relieved that they didn't unveiled themselves to another unnaturally bright flash.

Howie was one of the first to notice the absence of some of his fellow Toppats. "Hey, where did the rest go?"

Albert looked over at the possible directions they may have went to during the when the light from Earrings was glistening. "Must've ran away, while the flash was still out." He said in a very thick British accent.

Carol, with a sigh that doesn't sound too friendly, got up from where she was on the grassy area over to where the two are. "I'll go and fetch them. Gonna make sure they won't ever run away again on my watch."

"Blimey, maybe go easy on them when you find them. I would be absolutely gutted if something happens to them Caroline." The wealthy Toppat informed for the aggressive executive, tipping his hat in a polite bow.

With a roll of her irises, Carol trekked off from the group to search for her incredibly incompetent and quite frankly stupid members. "I told you not to call me by my full name Poshley!" She harshly yelled towards Albert before going out of earshot for his usual comeback.

"Alright, whatever you say Cross! You little nutter!"

Howie was doing his best not to let out any snickers when Carol was still within earshot of them, and once she's gone he completely exploded with laughter. Any sooner than that and he would've been dealt with the same way Stu was when he didn't pay the aggressive executive back.

In a little area not too far away from the rest but also too close where you can hear their bickering, Ahnoldt was surprisingly quiet in the duration of whole trip, normally he would be yelling on the top of his lungs every single millisecond that passed, or at least talking loudly non stop. He's very silent today for some reason. Seems like he's deep in thought, thinking about something.

"Ahnoldt, why so quiet? You're always talking." Witch said to the battle cry maker, sitting on a nearby rock to where he is. 

He looked up to the herbalist, shrugging his shoulders. "Dah-It's just that I'm kind of worried for the chief Witchy." He gestured to the blonde and the poker face wearing males, still in the same positions as before.

The young black-haired female craned her neck to face the two of them. "You mean his mental health?"

Ahnoldt nodded, a deep and long breath leaving him. "From what I'm seeing, he seems stressed out. He wasn't like this in the launch sequence or when we got into orbit."

Witch kept her stare on Sven and Burt for few more seconds before turning her gaze back to the loud mouth. "I think the lost of our previous leader along with his right hand man took a toll on him, but I can see where you're coming from."

"Chief, chill. You can relax when we're at his mansion." Burt said, never letting his hand go from its original place.

"How am I supposed to stay calm when governments can easily apprehend us now that we're on Earth again?!" Sven questioned, his voice raising as he finally had his head up from the ground, looking like someone spattered his facial features with mud.

"Listen, don't think about it so much. We just gotta be careful with what moves we make next, going to Albert's estate is a good start for our comeback. Just don't let stress overtake your senses." The head of communications stated, not losing his emotionless face for one second or at the little outburst from the blonde. He doesn't sound like it but he really is concerned for the well-being of the leader, could be due to his connection with him but you get the point. As far as he knows, he is the only one who actually saw his true self when not in front of his fellow Toppats. The Swedish male would vent all of his frustrations of having a responsibility he never wanted to take up whenever no one but them are around, and he will listen with his poker face, not knowing that behind that mask is a worried Burt.

Sitting in an upright posture and wiping the dirt off his face, Sven took in a breath before speaking to the statement. "I know that, but I can't help it. I always have this feeling that something is going to happen that would shut us down completely. This paranoia is stupid, you don't have to tell me that, but no matter how much I try I can't let this go."

Burt shook his head, his emotionless face starting to drop a bit. "I don't think that's stupid. You're just looking out for the clan. And after what happened to the others, you don't want the same thing to occur again. I understand what you are trying to say, no need to be afraid to tell."

"Thanks for that, I guess." The blonde responded a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Nah, I don't need a thank you. Just happy I could help you out boss." Burt mirrored his smile, albeit less shown.

.~.~

Carol pushed some vines away as she went deeper into this part of the jungle, still active in her search for the Toppats who ran away from the scene. And let's just say that she's growing irritated.

"Where are you guys? Do I have to babysit you now?!" She hissed, her shoes making a soft sound when it touches the grass and soil beneath them. If they really went this far from the rest then she's going to implode with anger. She was known to be impatient, especially when things that are promised to be given to her didn't reach the deadline in time or the person forgot about their deal. Specifically Stu. That stupid idiot with half a brain better not be one of the members who cowardly ran off.

The aggressive executive heard the very familiar noise of a bullet shooting through the air, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. It's not a soldier is it, they better not have found her wandering around. She scanned the area, looking for any threats to find none, no military or anyone who fights for justice or whatever. At least now she can continue her search peacefully.

Turns out she was wrong, because why wouldn't she?

Several more bullets screeched her ears, some screams follow along. Carol's mind battled with two sides wanting to be the decision she chooses. On one side, they want her to ignore it and think it's some fight with other criminals she has no idea about, but another side is telling her to check it out since if she doesn't, something bad could occur.

She decides to find out what the commotion is about.

It wasn't too hard, just following where the horrible sound of screaming and bullets fired off in rapid succession is enough for her to see what she was hearing from now, making sure to conceal herself first behind some bushes.

If she has to admit, she felt her jaw drop at the sight.

The Toppats she was searching for were engaged into a battle between a government team. None of them looked dead, but they certainly are in trouble. The soldiers seems to have the upper hand.

Carol only has a couple of seconds to decide what she's going to do. Either she could leap into the conflict and try to assist her comrades, or go back to get help from the other Toppats.

1) Go back

2) Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blimey - My goodness  
> Gutted - Devastated  
> Nutted - Crazy person
> 
> I headcanon Albert to be British, I don't know he just kinda gives off that impression that he is.


	6. Scouting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry and Ellie go along with Dave's team to scout out for any Toppat Clan members.

"We'll go with you." Henry signed the answer to the soldier after contemplating the decision. Yes, the squad of Bounty Hunters sound great, almost like a perfect team really, but he decided it was better to choose Dave over them. He knows him a lot better than the three who were listed, despite them having not the greatest start. It's probably better for them to go with someone who already has some form of connection with them, or rather Henry specifically, than with people who's not.

Dave's face brightened up with joy at seeing the two former criminals agreeing to join his team, well it was only Henry who currently sided with him but you get the point. He was fully expecting them to go along with the Bounty Hunters, from the way he described them and Ellie's reaction to the speech was more than enough to convince him that they pinpointed their decision on them. He never thought they would refuse that offer and join him and his own squad instead. "Really? You're actually going to go with me?"

Ellie was sort of disappointed, sort of. She did give the choice to the male beside her, so she didn't have any control over his actions, and it's not like she expected her desire to be fulfilled in her own way, she's open to any suggestions as long as it corresponds with her goal in mind: Making sure those Toppats pay for what grief was brought upon her and Henry. "Yeah, if Henry's gonna go with you then so am I."

A wide and genuine smile found its way to the other man's face as he stood up from the comfy bed. A smile that contained actual happiness will be very difficult for the pair to make again. "That's great! I wasn't expecting either of you to go with me." He adjusted his hat that symbolises his position as a government soldier, walking away from them as his gaze still trailed on them. "When you both are ready, we'll meet up at the front. I'll inform the team that you both are joining, see you soon!" Which was when he took his departure in leaving their room, both of them alone together once again.

.~.~

In less than an hour later, Henry and Ellie left their dorm designed room for the entrance of the tent that provided soldiers for their resting and relaxing needs. As promised and expected, the squad that Dave's in are waiting out front for the duo to arrive. Three unfamiliar faces were present in the group, a blonde woman, a brown haired female and another soldier who has a green helmet to shield his head from any kind of physical harm. The only ones who were recognized are Rupert and Dave, who are having a little conversation with one another as the rest of the strangers watched and listened to their words.

"We're here!" Ellie announced their presence to the team, putting on her bes acting smile despite the fact that it looked forced. Henry imitating the movements of her red lipstick covered lips.

The conversation about nothing in particular stopped abruptly at hearing the red haired's words making into their ears. All five members of the mini group turned their attention towards the pair, each with a different way of showing how they feel about them joining the squad. Dave was enthusiastic, Rupert was giving a firm nod and a half friendly half serious smile, the blonde lady has a slight glare on her face, and the other two had curious looks to them.

"So you are the ex-criminals I heard about." The blonde woman said, a rifle slung over her shoulder.

"Yeah, it's us. I'm Ellie and this is Henry. We assisted in taking down Toppats' the orbital station, and we make a pretty great team together. Who are you guys?" The redhead introduced herself and the male beside her, still keeping the forced smile as long as possible on their faces. It was quite painful to do, but as to not arouse concern that would interfere with the mission, they have to play pretend with emotions right now.

"Oh yeah, we should uh, get you two to know the rest." Dave stated, scratching the back of his neck in an awkward manner, looking over at the group, guiding his other hand to one of them to begin with the introductions.

His hand eventually fell to the blonde lady. "This is Captain Victoria Grit, she is one of the best and strongest captains of the government with several successful missions under her belt." Victoria nodded as to back up his claim, in case the former criminal duo in front of her thought it was just some joke or something along the lines of that. An encounter with some guy who had similar expectations as her thoughts made her feel like that.

The next person his hand directed towards to was the brunette girl with the yellow bow in her hair, which was barely seen as the hat was effectively blocking out the accessory from sight. "Uh, this is Aurelia Esteban, the younger sister of Amelia the woman who's in the Bounty Hunters unit. She is one of the more newer recruits but is amazing when it comes to hand-to-hand combat." Aurelia gave a friendly wave to Henry and Ellie after her introduction was complete, both of them mimicking the action back.

The last of the three to be introduced is the helmet wearing soldier. "And here is Ollie Andorin, he's been in the army for six years and has a load of knowledge about the technology that is used in the government." Ollie tried to make the impression that he's an intimidating man, but failed miserably as he made a very, very questionable expression.

"So, now that we all know each other, what now?" Ellie asked, glancing at Henry who nodded in agreement.

"In around ten minutes or so, all the teams are going to go through the jungle to scout out for any Toppat members. If any are discovered, all groups must inform at least one of the other teams to assist in the case anything goes wrong with their operation." Rupert gave the brief rundown on what is going to occur during the mission. "Before we head out, we'll need to be provided with gear that will help out in our quest to find and take down any teammates of the Toppats, they may not have any assets anymore but they still are dangerous."

"And where are we going to get the gadgets?" Henry questioned in sign, while most of them understood what he's saying, one particular person has no idea what he was doing with his body parts.

Aurelia spoke up about the strange patterns he's making with his hands. "Are you okay? What are you doing with your hands? No offense, but you look like one of those people who pretend they're trapped in an invisible box."

Henry was speechless at her words, even though he didn't speak for the whole time, his mouth agape. Ellie felt some kind of resentment towards the female for her comment, but it was minor and easy to control.

Dave let his focus be fixated on the brown haired, he doesn't want an awkward silence to initiate between the group. "What he's doing is called sign language. He doesn't like using his voice, from what I can tell, so to communicate he does motions with his hands."

Victoria made a face that can be described as someone spiking your drink with lemon juice, a huff of frustration leaving her trachea. "Sorry about her, she isn't as trained in language as most of us here." The captain never liked being embarrassed, intentionally or not.

Henry shook his head, signing, "It's alright, I know I would run into people who doesn't know how to communicate with me in sign."

Ollie turned around to see that most of the other teams that have been established are already leaving for the departure. "We should probably get going too, everyone's already leaving."

"What? The time today, can't believe it's going that fast." The brunette murmured to herself, catching a glimpse of her sister and her own team taking their leave too. "Good luck sis!" As if she was a robot programmed to do something, she automatically and swiftly shouted to her before she can be out of earshot.

Amelia turned to see who was calling for her, stopping where she was, eventually her line of sight spotted the image of the younger brown-haired. She gave a simple wave and smile to Aurelia. "I wish you good luck too, my dear sister." She stated in a loud tone for her to hear, while also attracting some of the passing soldiers' attention. She then went back to walking into the woods for mission purposes and as to not cause worry among the other Bounty Hunters.

The redhead felt something watery touch her irises, her vision getting blurry as the little bubble in her eyes shapeshifts itself to become larger until it covered her emerald greens. Watching the Esteban sisters and how they treat one another...it triggered this to happen.

Someone waved their hand in front of her, but she barely saw it as her now glossy irises pictured everything to be a blur. That person then stepped in front of the red haired, their arms now flailing about.

Ellie blinked her eyes, the water immediately falling from them and onto the ground, clearing her vision in an instant.

So she was crying? Huh, and she didn't realized it until now.

"You okay?" The male who is revealed to be Henry asked in sign, expression now concerned for the female.

"Yeah, sorry." Ellie responded, wiping away the remaining tears. "Just, remembered something."

Before Henry could make another question, he was interrupted by Rupert smacking a hand onto his shoulder. "Are you two coming?"

Nodding frantically, the pair finally makes their way out of the tent and into the outdoors. The sun just radiating the perfect pitch of light upon them.

"Does she do that with her sister all the time?" Henry asked, motioning his hands for the question to start a conversation, now beginning the trek to the tent that would provide them what they need for the mission.

"Unfortunately, yes." Victoria responded, gesturing the rest of the group to come along.

"It's not really a bad thing, just that it got a tad bit repetitive, for Vicky at least." Dave spoke up, his statement unfortunately making the blonde captain give him a cold and harsh glare, to of which he chuckled in nervous fashion. Blame his forgetfulness for that dumb stunt.

"Come on, we have been doing that for years already! Why should we stop our sisterly love tradition now?" Aurelia questioned with a hint of playfulness in her voice, though it is mostly blocked out by the childishly sweet tone that she was using.

Rupert rolled his eyes, both annoyed and disappointed by how she's acting, the latter being the more primary feeling that is stealing the spotlight. "Maybe we should focus on lecturing you and your behaviour later. Right now we have an order from the general we must carry out."

The former security guard let his habit of scratching the back of his neck be loose, which basically means he's doing it again except it was much greater than all the other times. "I got that."

Henry and Ellie didn't really want to jump in on how they interact with one another, not just because it was from the tragic events that led to this, it was also due to the fact that they don't want any drama to interfere with their current goal in mind, and they really do not want to be on the bad end of anyone, especially Victoria, she seems like someone who is capable of bringing them both to their knees in a split second, even if they have the upper hand. Her history of having several successful missions and operations are more than enough to deter them from messing with her.

Aurelia... she's quite nice. Probably the hyperactive type, but the mention of her being extremely good at hand-to-hand combat indicates that despite her attitude, she can crush bones on her own. She and Amelia has a healthy sibling relationship between each other, something the red haired wished she still had years prior.

As for Ollie, he isn't too talkative, from what the duo has seen so far. But that's probably due to his obsession with baking shows. How do they know this? Well, on their way to the resting tent after receiving permission to stay on the premises from the general, they overhead a conversation between two gingers who are most likely twins talking about how he once again almost burned the kitchen to the ground because of his inexperience with baking, and how worried they are that one day he'll get into the hospital thanks to his failed attempts. He's pretty friendly though, his knowledge of the gadgets the military will provide for them will come into play soon.

Soon, after silence dominated the atmosphere for a brief time, the group arrived at the tent they're supposed to go to. The exterior looked like all of the other shelters the government has installed in the middle of Dogobogo Jungle, but the interior had a more office feel to it. The green from the cloth that is used to create what they are under now being the only feature that reminds them they aren't in an actual office. The furniture inside serving as the primary factor for causing this feeling, although there wasn't much within. A desk was seated in front of them when they first entered, sticky notes plastered here and there with some kind of writing on them, a laptop on the table with someone sitting on a stool focused on the electronic, typing on the keyboard in a rapid manner, a cup of coffee sitting by the person, and some suitcases stationed in the front of the desk.

"Hey Lucas, we're here to collect our gear." Dave did the honours of announcing their arrival, much to the disappointment of Aurelia.

Lucas looked up from the laptop, stopping his fingers from continuing hastily with the keyboard. "They're in the suitcases." He informed, then went back to working on the device.

"No showcase or anything?" Henry signed, quite frankly upset. He was expecting more, not just getting told that the high tech are in suitcases.

"Broomhandle here picks up a new hobby every week, and this time the brand new one to join his laundry list is working with technology. And he hates it when people interrupt his activities." Rupert explained to the ex-thief, going over and picking up one of the few suitcases left so they can begin the mission.

"What kind of gear is in there?" Ellie asked, letting her gaze be fixated on the item that contained everything the government has created.

"We've got guns, grenades, daggers, zero-point energy gloves, sleeping gas, gravity bubbles-" Aurelia began listing the arsenal they have at their disposal, firing off word after word in rapid succession, and would've droned on and on about them if Victoria didn't slapped a hand over her mouth, albeit a little hard.

"Zero-point what?" Ellie was in disbelief upon hearing that word. "How did you guys even develop that?"

"Beats me, I have no idea." Dave, when first hearing about it, has been asking and asking questions to know how in the living world they were able to create something like that, the only reason why he didn't try to figure it out on his own was because he didn't want to get fired again.

"We'll answer any questions later, in the meantime we should get going now." Ollie informed, already stepping outside of the tent, eager to get this mission over and done with so he can go back to watching baking shows.

"Sure, sure Ollie." Rupert sighed and went along with the other soldier, everyone else trekking behind.

.~.~

"Found any Toppats?" Victoria questioned, searching in the bushes to see if anyone from the opposing faction is trying to hide in them.

Henry shook his head, despite the fact that the captain can't see it as the earpiece he was given wasn't programmed to sense motion. Ellie beside him did the honours of saying what he intended to be made clear to everyone. "No, not yet at least."

The group has decided that splitting up is the best course of action to take. At first, everyone thought it was a stupid idea, almost everybody, only Dave, Rupert and Henry agreed on the plan, Dave was the one who suggested it, Rupert went along as to not upset his colleague, and Henry thought it would make the process of finding the Toppat Clan members faster. After a round of rock paper scissors, and another since a tie was made, the rest of the team reluctantly accepted it under the condition that they all have at least one partner to accompany them, and an earpiece to contact one another if need be.

"I don't see the point in splitting up, it'll probably set us up for an ambush." Ollie said out of the blue, having his gun out in the case of what he mentioned could happen.

Rupert found himself to be offended by what came from the other soldier, even though he can see where he's coming from. "Be a bit more positive about this alright? This is all Dave's idea and he's still new to the army." The mentioned man became a lot more sensitive than before after his time as a prisoner, he didn't want to see him shed any tears because of some words.

The quite frankly bad baker let out a huff, one that's filled with both frustration and compliance. "Alright, sorry. I'm just concerned that we could get caught and beaten up by any Toppat goons, there's still a lot of them left roaming free."

Dave chuckled, still keeping the smile present on his face. "No need to apologize, uh not gonna lie this isn't the best plan I came up with. We could uh switch to another plan if you want, just pretend that the rock paper scissors game wasn't a thing." He's a forgiving person, there's no denying that. He always tries to stay on the good side of things, even if certain conditions makes it impossible to. It just goes to show that you can never take away his sense of optimism no matter how many times you try to break him down until his personality is a mere husk of what it once was.

"We're already split up so there's no point in doing so." Victoria said, still performing the old tactic of checking the bushes.

Aurelia was preparing for a brawl, her hands in the position of how a karate master would, a cocky smirk formed on her face and there's no sign of it going away anytime soon. "Come on out, Toppats. Don't be afraid, we just want to take you in that's all." Her condescending tone accompanying an aura of intimidation that surrounded her as she said those lines and her hands ready to break anything.

Henry and Ellie are, as the other members of the team calls it, 'babysitters for the ferocious child'. And they are right, the brunette is terrifying. And Henry would argue that she's more scary than the red haired female. They thought Victoria was fright inducing, they totally didn't consider her when it comes to the people I will forever not mess with list. 

Sorrow unfortunately still overpowered anything else, the fear not strong enough to pull them away from its grasp, attempts at detaching the emotion from their heads is next to impossible. No longer did they put up with the act, instead they let their expressions revert back to the gloomy ones they had before coming to the jungle.

Two things are on the minds of Henry Stickmin and Ellie Rose right now, Charles's demise and the lust for revenge against the Toppat Clan. Resentment, rage and bitterness all mixed themselves in with the sadness to create a storm of emotions, the waves crashing down on them, weighing them down from true happiness, pushing them to the point of breaking completely.

The duo silently followed behind Aurelia, who was still pointlessly calling out to the criminal organization's remaining members. She seems like she didn't want to stop until one Toppat was found or came out of hiding. 

"For a criminal organization, you guys sure are cowards!" The brunette stated, eyes darting around in a fruitless search for her targets. She should be lucky that she remembered to turn off her earpiece so the others wouldn't hear what she's saying. "What do you two think about them not..." The young recruit turned her head to them, something they weren't prepared for as they assumed she's going to drone on and on with her monologues. Her grin was replaced by a frown that is undoubtedly filled to the brim with worry. Her eyebrows furrowing with concern, she stopped in her tracks, which in turn caused them to stop too.

"Are you two okay? You seem sad, wanna talk about it?" Aurelia asked, her voice becoming soft and gentle. It's almost like she changed her entire personality from a cocky little fighter to a soft-hearted motherly individual.

Henry doesn't want to bother anyone about their coping with the loss of a certain friend, and neither does Ellie. So they both shook their heads and both of them did something to reassure her that they're fine when in reality they aren't. Henry gave an obviously fake happy smile while Ellie responded to her, "Just a little stressed is all." Dave hasn't told the group about their issues huh? Guess he's the type to not reveal secrets even when they really aren't.

The brown haired turned her heel and walked over to the red haired and the ex-thief, standing on her tippy toes to achieve their height measurement, as she's a little shorter than them. "I can tell you both aren't alright. What's wrong? You can always trust me with whatever you both are going through, even though we're on a mission right now." She managed a smile that's genuine unlike Henry's poorly made one, or the smiles they made back at the camp.

The pair were still hesitant, glancing at each other for a few moments. It's nice to see that someone cares about them and their current condition, they just don't want to rope the younger into the emotional mess that was born in the stars. 

"Should we?" Ellie asked the male, awaiting for his answer. She has to be sure that he's okay with her next words.

The redhead never got to see what he would sign, because of a certain interruption.

"Team six, we need backup! Toppat Clan members are reported to be found! Follow the location we sent you and bring assistance!" A soldier from another group yelled into their earpieces, the faint sound of gunshots and screaming echoing through their ears from the other line. A holographic image of where they are is displayed from their earpieces, an arrow pointing where they need to go to reach there.

"Copy that, June!" Aurelia responded to the claim made, standing properly again and now her look became dead serious. "We'll talk about this later, come on! We got some criminals to detain!" She then ran off in the direction where the other team is.

The ex-criminals watched as her feet quickly went pass each other in sync, letting their gaze shift onto one another. "Let's get going, this is the opportunity for revenge." Ellie said, waiting until Henry nodded his head in agreement before following after the brunette.

.~.~

Carol has to go back. 

It's too dangerous for her to take on a whole group of government soldiers on her own, she doesn't have her rifle on her person to add onto the reasons why she needs to get back to the others. Even if she did have her weapon of choice, she's confident that the soldiers would quickly shoot her down before she gets the chance to fire back her bullets, leaving the rest of the Toppats in danger of being arrested or worse, killed.

She may hate their guts for being stupid and incompetent, but that doesn't mean she won't care a little bit about them.

Quietly but swiftly leaving her hiding spot, Carol ran as fast as she could back to the remaining members, memorising the path she took to witness the tragedy to befall upon the others who didn't want to deal with Earrings and her unnaturally bright jewels blinding them. She's definitely going to give her an unpleasant lecture after this.

The hats that were soon seen gave her the sign that she arrived back at their resting place. At least no government soldiers got to them before she did. That would've sucked if that happened.

The strict executive almost banged her head on a tree when she rushed in, and was thankful for not knocking herself out when an emergency is active. Her breathing became rapid from the amount of running she did to get here, stress taking ahold of her and trying to pry it's way inside to prevent her from making a proper statement about what she saw when finding the members who ran off into the depths of the jungle. Her straight face falling in exchange for one that is full of fear and desperation.

The Toppats who stayed behind all noticed her sudden arrival, going up to her in either curiosity or concern. Only a few were actually worried about her while everyone else wanted to know why she ran that fast for whatever reason, like she's being chased by a bear.

"Carol, what happened? Are you okay?" Sven questioned, one of the few who are concerned with her wellbeing.

"Soldiers...surrounded...Toppats..." The raven haired female leaned on the very tree that she didn't bump into in time, if it was something that could talk it would be adding some insult to injury. She did her best in trying to catch her breath and remain calm. 

"You were being chased by soldiers?!" Howie asked, apparently not having listened to her last word or misheard it for something else or didn't get what she's trying to say.

Carol swiftly shakes her head. "No, I saw the Toppats I was looking for cornered by a group of soldiers. I knew I couldn't fight back without backup so I ran back here."

Everyone took a few seconds to process what was occuring without them knowing until now. Their friends, their family, in danger? Yes, they all have moments that aren't nice, and they may not treat everyone who joins the clan with respect, but as one said, a family always had each other's backs, no matter what. They still had their glares on one particular person, Earrings, who raised her hand in defense and chuckled nervously.

"We're not going to let them be taken without a fight. We came too far to fail now." Sven stated, taking out his pistol from his belt. "Get your weapons everyone, we're teaching these government soldiers that they should not meddle with the Toppat Clan!" The stress left him as he motivates each and every member to bring out what they prefer to use as a way of self-defence and letting out a battle cry, Ahnoldt giving the loudest.

"Now," The blonde said, turning to Carol. "Show us the way and quick, I don't know how much time we have left."

Carol nodded, beginning to show the path she took to see everything she described earlier. They can deal with Earrings later, they need to help their family now.

.~.~

After a long time of running was made that it could be used to fuel a bar for a special power in a videogame, Henry, Ellie and Aurelia found their way to where the other group told them to go. It was in the deeper parts of the jungle, which would explain why they took a while to get there, but forget about that, for now they have a job to do: Assist the team with the apprehension of the Toppat Clan, and claiming sweet revenge for Henry and Ellie.

"There you guys are!" Victoria waved towards them as she and the rest of team six are already at the location. They aren't in combat however, they were hiding behind some bushes that leads to the conflict happening with the soldiers and the Toppats.

"Why are you not doing anything and helping them?" Aurelia questioned, overseeing the fight. 

"Waiting for you three, obviously." Ollie said in a slight nonchalant tone, rolling his eyes out of frustration and his impatience with them.

"Well, we're here now, so now what?" Ellie stated, cracking her knuckles as she prepares for a beat down with the ones who caused her and her previously convicted partner so much grief.

"We go in and-" Before Dave could finish a fraction of what he's going to say, the brown haired caught their attention.

"Something's happening!" 

She wasn't wrong, many more Toppats have appeared from the opposite side, and they do not look happy at all. An all out bullet rampage rained down onto the soldiers soon after a little monologue was given by who they presumed is the new leader of the clan, one of them got shot in the arm while the rest are trying to avoid the rapidly fired bullets that may not be recoverable if they hit the target. Looks like the tides have turned for the Toppats. The suitcase appears to be gone too, in the hands of one of the members, so the gear can't save them now.

"What are we going to do now?" Aurelia asked, feeling the need to jump into the conflict and try to help the soldiers from a fate that will most likely not end pretty. It was known that she doesn't like to sit around and do nothing if something or someone is at stake. Before she can leap into the fight, Victoria latched an arm around her to prevent her from going anywhere.

"I've got a few ideas." Henry sighed to them, quickly formulating some plans that may help them regain the advantage.

1) Sneak attack

2) Full on assault

3) Gadgets

4) Fusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I decided to add fails here. Just to keep the hilarious continuity of the series, I thought it would be fitting for here. You do have the freedom to vote if you want to, but try to think what can happen if that choice was a fail, to guarantee that you get the right answer.
> 
> Only applies to battle and planning choices, the big story changing ones do not count.


	7. Vs. Toppats: Sneak Attack

To perform the plan properly and efficiently, team six quickly moved from their initial spot to the other side of the conflict, not directly in it, just where there aren't any Toppats present while being on their side of the battlefield. They were able to accomplish this by moving as far away as they could from the fight to where they can't be spotted, before running into the bushes in the opposite direction as the ones they were hiding behind.

"Alright, let's do this." Ellie whispered to her once convicted ally, everyone quietly heading towards where the Toppat Clan members are positioned. None of them had moved at all, still focused on trying to shoot down the soldiers.

The plan was simple: Henry and Ellie would sneak up behind the new leader of the clan and take them by force. The others would burst out of hiding once they got the signal and put them at gunpoint, which will then spark into a negotiation with the Toppats, knowing that they'd fall apart without a leader. In exchange for going into custody, they'll spare their leader. It's perfect, going so far as to call it foolproof.

"Target is Sven Svensson, new leader of the Toppats. Blonde hair, blue hat, weapon is pistol." Victoria stated the details of the leader to the pair, recalling the what was described of him a few months ago, before the orbital station was established. She had been in a meeting with the other captains and the general, during of which revealed who the new chief of the Toppats are. She had a good memory.

"You sure this would work?" Dave asked, starting to doubt the plan. He wasn't sure if it would go in their favour or backfire immensely.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine." Ellie reassured the worried man. "We've did much more dangerous things than this."

Dave just gave a simple nod, though judging by his facial expression, he wasn't entirely convinced. But dropped the topic to focus on the plan.

They eventually got to the bush placed behind the male described to be the new leader. Everything added up with the description Victoria gave.

"Showtime." Ellie whispered to Henry, who looked at her with a cocky smile present on his face, while the rest getting into position. The need for revenge will get what it wants to satisfy it's needs soon enough.

The pair slowly crept up to Sven, making sure not to create any noises that would be loud enough to overcome the shower of bullets raining down, or rather at the other group of soldiers, some of them actually getting shot and either lying on the ground unresponsive with blood leaking from whatever side of their body got hit from a bullet that unfortunately hit them, or were trying to stand their ground only to collapse from the sheer pain coursing through their bodies, not dead though, just passed out.

Once they were close enough, Henry and Ellie did what was required in the plan, and took the blonde by surprise, swiftly taking ahold of him by pining his arms to his upper body, leaving him unable to move. This caught the attention of many Toppats, soldiers included, also acting as the cue for the others to jump out of hiding and hold him at gunpoint, much to the shock of everyone, freezing in place.

Before anything could be said or done, Henry and Ellie were suddenly shot down, not by any of the Toppats, but Sven himself. Apparently, they forgot to take away his pistol when they got him right where they wanted. The pair falling to the ground instantly from the two separate bullets flying into their heads.

Sven aimed his gun at the other members of the group, a couple of Toppats joining in while the rest continued with their bullet rampage on the soldiers in the opposite direction of them. The five who remain are then shot down like how Henry and Ellie were, causing their deaths.

**FAIL: That was pretty good, only one thing: You forgot the pistol! ******


	8. Vs. Toppats: Full On Assault

Once the plan was made clear, everyone bursted out of the bushes, guns loaded with bullets waiting to be shot out and hit whatever they're aimed to fly at.

Almost immediately, they rapidly fired off shot after shot, managing to gun down a few Toppats, while making sure they aren't going to accidentally hit any of the other soldiers.

Some more screams were let out during their own bullet rampage, and this time, blood was spilled. Well, only a bit but still. They'd probably broken a few bones as well.

The Toppats who weren't getting little pieces of metal fly at them at high speeds turned their attention to the new nuisances, after seeing the things zoom past them and into one of their fellow Toppats. They weren't happy, to say the least. And quickly and efficiently shot them down, they didn't even get a fraction of the large number of members trying to shoot down every soldier present on the battlefield.

This also results in the rest of the soldiers getting shot too, creating a sweet and easy victory for the Toppat Clan.

**FAIL: What did you think was gonna happen? ******


	9. Vs. Toppats: Gadgets

At Henry's request, the team opens up the suitcase containing the gear provided for the mission. Inside, there were smoke bombs, zero-point energy gloves, guns, and other things made by the military. Some of them were even created by Gadget Gabe.

"Which would you like to use?" Victoria asked, the one who is holding the suitcase.

Ellie had a million questions running through her head, how did they make all of this? What resources were invested into creating them? How did zero-point energy came to be? (It probably was but she never heard of it in her life, so cut her some slack.) But she knew better than to not ask them now. This is a high stakes situation, there's no room for distraction or interruption.

Henry examined the gadgets carefully and thoroughly, which could be the best one to use? He definitely didn't want to pick one that results in something ridiculous happening. (He already had enough trouble with the teleporter, thank you very much) But he also had to be quick, time is against them right now and lives are on the line.

After a few moments of analyzing, he picked up one of the zero-point energy gloves and put it on, admiring it briefly before turning to the group, the gloved hand stretched out to let everyone see, Victoria closing the suitcase soon after his pick.

When everyone had a glance at the chosen gadget, Ollie was the first to ask a very important question. "Do you know how to use it?"

The ex-thief awkwardly shook his head. Of course he has no idea how to use it, despite having fiddled with technology in the past.

"As expected." Ollie sighed, going over to the other and taking the gloved hand. "You gotta point at the thing you wanna take, then just... think about grabbing it without visible effort or something and when you got it, move your hand around." He then let it go for Henry to do his thing.

Following his instructions, Henry pointed his finger at a tree, and did exactly what was told earlier. A laser beam projected from the fingertip to the tree, creating a blue aura surrounding the tree. Afterwards, he moved his hand up, causing the tree to come along, the aura around it being the main cause.

From here, Henry tried to guide the tree to where the Toppats are, intending to drop it on them so they can't pose a threat any longer. Besides, revenge wouldn't mind if they were crushed.

He directed the attack to them...

...which ended up getting flung back at them thanks to some other trees, positioned in a way that it can be used as a slingshot. Some of the Toppats saw what he was planning to do, and were able to formulate this counterattack to prevent him from letting them getting crushed to death.

The tree flew at them at high speeds, and before the group could do anything, it fell on top of them, turning them into pancakes.

**FAIL: That backfired immensely. ******


	10. Vs. Toppats: Fusion

Henry only explained the plan to Ellie by whispering to her, whilst making sure nobody is listening in, friend or foe. She only nodded and gave a confident smirk.

The rest of the group were understandably confused, they were expecting him to announce it to all of them, not just one. "Uh, what is the plan exactly?" Dave questioned, an eyebrow raised.

"You'll see." Ellie responded, the smirk not leaving her face. She turned towards the male, who was mirroring her facial expression. "You ready?"

Henry nodded eagerly, both of them getting into position, side by side with one another. Before any other questions could be asked, the two of them struck a few poses together, eventually ending in them doing one last pose and a bright light covered the pair, catching the attention of the soldiers and the Toppats immediately due to the light being extremely bright. The group having their eyes wide in shock.

Soon enough, the light began to dissipate, unveiling what has become with the pair. They merged into a single entity, having qualities of the former criminals, just slightly altered. The colour red from Ellie's hair painted the mohawk hairstyle, they were larger than the rest, Henry's brown shoes staying in the design, Ellie's eyelashes still present being the finishing touches. They were having a cocky smirk, showing off their white and shiny teeth, hands on their hips. Thus, Ellry is born.

"Who will challenge me?" The mix of voices in the entity had Henry and Ellie's overlapping with one another as they stepped out from the bushes, awaiting for anyone daring enough to approach them.

Most of the Toppats were hesitant, some even going so far as to drop their weapons and raised their hands in the air, surrender being the only option left for them. One particular person however decided to take the inevitable risk.

"I will." Earrings spoke up, gripping the dual pistols tightly in her hands as she stepped forward, surprising, worrying and shocking all of the clan.

"Edith, are you crazy?! We don't stand a chance against that thing!" Witch cried out, attempting to reach out to the blonde haired female, only to have her hand be smacked away by her.

"I was the reason why this all happened in the first place. I have to make up for my mistakes. I'll try to hold them off as long as I can for the rest of you to escape. Whatever you do, don't come back for me." Earrings responded, a genuine smile appeared on her face as she turned to the rest of her family. Though arrogant, she was willing to sacrifice herself for the clan. And this is one of those moments where they shine.

The blonde haired female turned back to the fused entity. "You think just because you're fused you're a match for me?" A confident yet nervous smirk formed on her face. "Don't make me laugh." She readied the jewels hanging on her ears for the foreseeable event coming her way.

"Enough waiting around!" Ellry launched forward towards their adversary, giant fist clenched and pulling all force from their separate fusees together to create one devastating blow.

Acting quickly, Earrings shined the diamonds in their face, once again light as bright as the sun erupted from them to blind whoever is in their vicinity. As the abnormally bright dazzle did it's work, she shot two bullets towards the fused entity with the help of the dual pistols she has equipped.

Ellry deflected the bullets as if they were paper airplanes, but with the light blocking their eyesight for a moment, they ended up missing their punch on the blonde haired female as she dodged their attack, resulting in them hitting a tree instead. The fist was packed with so much force that the tree fell down, and thankfully not on top of them.

While the brawl between Ellry and Earrings is occuring, the Toppats, most of them anyway, took the opportunity and tried to flee the scene, some of them insisting on staying behind to help her, unwilling to let her die that easily. The soldiers who were attacked moved in quick to arrest any Toppat Clan members, the rest of the group joining in to help, while trying to make sure they don't get caught in the crossfire of the battle. It was quite a hassle with the entity flying after the blonde Toppat repeatedly and the light from the diamonds blinding them temporarily, but it was manageable. Not entirely but isn't troublesome enough for them.

At some point during the fight, Earrings got what was bound to come for her eventually, which was actually getting hit by Ellry's fist, sending her flying across the battlefield until her back came into contact with some bushes, breaking her fall but bruises are very likely to form after such a hard punch. Oh yeah, and her cheek could use some surgery while we're at it. She probably wouldn't be able to talk properly afterwards.

In response to their attack, the earring wearing Toppat fired off another shot, aiming it directly at he head. If shooting their limbs aren't enough, then going for a headshot would definitely do the trick right?

Wrong.

Instead of the bullet ripping through their head like intended, Ellry grabbed the small but destructive piece of metal, and immediately threw it back towards her at an alarming speed.

Earrings tried to move away from where the bullet is heading towards, or at least deflect it or something. But with her injured state, and how fast the little steel creation is flying across the air, it was fruitless. The palm of her hand was hit as a last ditch effort to defend herself, sending a wave of intense pain up her wrist to her arm, blood beginning to spill out of her system almost immediately, staining the bushes with the crimson substance. She let out a pained scream when the agony began to set in, cradling the shot hand close to herself as much as she could in the state she was currently in. If it weren't for the clots, she would be bleeding heavily by now.

The Toppats who were caught heard the screech echo through their ears, but are unable to do anything about it. Some were demanding the soldiers holding them to let them go, some just hanged their heads in defeat, silently hoping that those who escaped can restart the legacy of the clan without them.

Ellry walked over to the girl, a shadow casting down onto the ground as they did. "You finished, or do you want to go for another round?"

Earrings, now knowing that there's no other option left, sighed in embarrassment and defeat. "Yes..."

The entity reversed the fusion soon after, Henry and Ellie are now separated again.

"Alright, let's get these guys back to base." Ellie said, her need for revenge satisfied...for now.


End file.
